John Maynard Keynes's theories of population and the concept of “optimum”

Summary

This review of Keynes' scattered writings on population, which in view of his general importance as an economist might be of interest in itself, is used to highlight the marked shift in demographic theory during the past three decades. The revival of Malthusianism during the 1920's was followed by a contrary emphasis during the following depression decade, and this change in opinion was much more violent than the one in demographic trends that it in part reflected. The current dispute over the relevance of Malthus's theory is marked by a fundamental confusion between a Malthusian and a Keynesian frame of reference. Explicitly or implicitly, various policies are set in accord with what is taken to be the optimum population of a country, but this optimum is not determinable in terms of present theory.